The Defenders (comic book)

The Defenders first appeared as a feature in Marvel Feature #1 (December 1971).^[1] Due to the popularity of their tryout in Marvel Feature, Marvel soon began publishing The Defenders.^[2] Writer Steve Englehart has stated that he added the Valkyrie to the Defenders in issue #4 "to provide some texture to the group."^[3] Englehart wrote "The Avengers–Defenders War" crossover in The Avengers #116–118 (October–December 1973) and The Defenders #9–11 (October–December 1973).^[4] Len Wein briefly wrote the series,^[5] and later became the editor for several issues.

Steve Gerber first worked on the characters in Giant-Size Defenders #3 (January 1975) and became the writer of the main title with issue #20 the following month.^[6] He wrote the series until issue #41 (November 1976).^[7] In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked Gerber and Sal Buscema's run on The Defenders first on its list of the "Top 10 1970s Marvels".^[8]

David Anthony Kraft's run as writer^[9] included "The Scorpio Saga" (issues #46, 48–50) and the "Xenogenesis: Day of the Demons" storyline (issues #58–60).^[10] Kraft later recalled that reactions to the off-beat humor in his "Defender for a Day" storyline in issues #62–64 were polarized: "readers were either wildly enthusiastic or absolutely and very utterly appalled."^[11]

Steven Grant wrote a conclusion to Steve Gerber's Omega the Unknown series in two issues of The Defenders,^[12][13][14] at the end of which most of the original series' characters were killed.

Writer J. M. DeMatteis took over the series with issue #92. Coming from a background of writing eight-page horror shorts for DC Comics, DeMatteis found it a struggle to adapt to writing a 22-page superhero comic on a monthly basis.^[15] He and Mark Gruenwald co-wrote The Defenders #107–109 (May–July 1982).^{[16][17][18][19]} While working on the series, DeMatteis developed a strong friendship with penciler Don Perlin,^[15] who would draw the series for nearly half its run. Perlin later commented, "It turned out to be a real fun book because you got a chance to draw almost every character Marvel had at one time or another."^[20] He has also stated that Kim DeMulder, who inked issues #122-144 apart from a few fill-ins, is his preferred inker after himself..^[21]

During his run, Perlin recalled, he became what he has characterized as "the first guy, unwittingly, to put profanity in [Comics Code-approved] comics":

This happened in one [issue] of The Defenders. There was a character in there who was a lawyer for the Defenders and his gimmick was that no matter where you saw him in his office, there had to be a TV set on—he was always watching TV. And while I was drawing one of the panels I was listening to a talk show and there was someone on telling how bad cereals for kids were—they were all loaded with sugar. So I drew a picture on the TV of a bunny rabbit holding a box of cereal and across the label where the name of the cereal would be I pencilled in "shit". So I figured, because I used to write nutty comments in the borders and stuff, I thought they'd get a laugh out of it and change it. So they gave it to [Peru-born inker] Pablo Marcos and I don’t know if he knew how to read English or not but he inked it. I walked in one day [to Marvel] ... and [editor-in-chief Jim] Shooter started yelling, "What did you do? Look at it! They called me upstairs and showed me this," and I said, "Wait a minute. That thing goes through an assistant editor, an editor, a proofreader and then you’re supposed to read it. And no one picked it up so don't blame me." So what happened was he said fine, just don't write anymore comments on your pages.^[21]

The New Defenders

Suffering from creative burnout on the series, DeMatteis felt a change was needed.^[15] As of issue #125, The Defenders was retitled to The New Defenders as the original four members (Doctor Strange, the Silver Surfer, the Hulk, and Namor) are forced to leave the team.^[22] The "New Defenders" concept provided a substantial boost to the series's sales, but left DeMatteis in a creative drought, as he realized in retrospect that "...I created a book that was exactly the kind of the thing that I hated to write. I made it into a standard superhero team..."^[15] DeMatteis stayed on for only six issues of The New Defenders before turning it over to writer Peter Gillis.

The series's final issue was The New Defenders #152.^[23] Penciler Don Perlin recounted "[Editor] Carl Potts he took me and Peter Gillis to lunch. We went to an Indian restaurant... He said, ‘They canceled the book.’"^[24]

Secret Defenders

In 1993, Marvel sought to revive the "Defenders" brand as "The Secret Defenders". The new team first appeared, unofficially, in Dr. Strange #50 and later Fantastic Four #374, before being officially introduced in Secret Defenders #1.^[25][26]

Reunion and The Order

In 2001–2002, The Defenders reunited in The Defenders volume 2 #1–12 created by Kurt Busiek and Erik Larsen, immediately followed by The Order #1–6. A fill-in issue set between these two series was published in 2011.

2005 Mini-series

A Defenders five-issue mini-series debuted in July 2005, by Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire (as a team, best known for their work on DC's Justice League franchise), featuring Doctor Strange attempting to reunite the original four Defenders to battle Dormammu and Umar. This series focuses mostly on humor as the characters spend most of their time arguing with and criticizing one another. The series was later collected into both hardcover and trade paperback collections, entitled Defenders: Indefensible.

The Last Defenders

In 2008 Joe Casey wrote a new miniseries with a new line-up of Defenders as a result of the Super-Human Registration Act and the events of the Civil War.^[27]

2011 series

Marvel launched a new Defenders series in December 2011, written by Matt Fraction and drawn by Terry Dodson. The new book features Doctor Strange, Red She-Hulk, Namor, the Silver Surfer and Iron Fist. The new series follows the reunion of the Defenders in Fear Itself: The Deep.^[28] The series was cancelled at issue #12.

The Fearless Defenders

February 2013 saw the debut of The Fearless Defenders, a series written by Cullen Bunn with artwork by Will Sliney. Bunn said that he had wanted to write the series, which centers on a new team of Valkyrior, led by Valkyrie and Misty Knight, after writing Fear Itself: The Fearless. It was suggested to him that it should run as a Defenders title, however Bunn explained that beyond the name there is "little connection" to the Defenders.^[29]

2017 series

In August 2017, Marvel launched a new Defenders comic book series starring Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist, based on the Netflix incarnation of the team.^[30]

2021 series

In August 2021, Marvel launched a new Defenders series.^[31]

Vol. 1 (1972–1986)

Writers

Pencilers

Marvel Masterworks Defenders

Defenders Omnibus

Essential Defenders

Marvel Epic collections

Other Volume One collected editions

The Secret Defenders

Defenders volume 3

The Last Defenders

The Defenders by Matt Fraction (volume 4)

The Fearless Defenders

The Defenders by Brian Michael Bendis (volume 5)

The Best Defense

Defenders by Al Ewing (volume 6)

Other

• Hatcher, Greg. "Trapped in a Friday He Never Made: Essay on Gerber's Omega and The Defenders," Comic Book Resources (Aug. 5, 2006).